Be grateful for little surprises

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference! Yesterday, I was helping lead a volunteer work party to remove invasive plants from a local park. The volunteers had gathered around our pile of shovels and buckets and were listening to the leader explain our task for the day when a tiny juvenile hummingbird flew into our circle, hovered by one person’s leg and then settled on the rim of one of the bright orange buckets, just 16 inches from me.

The little bird stuck out its tongue, hovered around the red buckets that were next to the orange buckets, then perched once more for a rest. For those brief moments, all discussion about removing invasive plants and how to carry a shovel stopped. Everyone in the circle was captivated by this 0.1 ounce bird. As the bird flew off to examine the red taillights of parked cars, I looked at the faces of our volunteers. Everyone was smiling.

This tiny bundle of energy had transformed the moods and spirits of each of us. The work before us now had context, meaning – we were restoring habitat so that animals like the hummingbirds could survive and thrive. It was a powerful moment. In that shared space and time, the hummingbird helped us remember that we’re all in this world together, and we need to take care of each other. I’m grateful for that little bird, for the surprise and the joy it brought.